The Golden Years

From new styles in store décor to the evolution of discount retailing, the times were indeed a-changin' in the 1960s.

The Sixties was a tumultuous decade marked by the Vietnam War, social revolution and powerful popular music.

But the period that was so memorably represented in the movie "Forrest Gump" was also an action-packed time for the supermarket industry.

Major events that took place in retailing during the 1960s include the birth of the consumer movement, advancements in store design, the evolution of discounting and the addition of pharmacies in supermarkets. At the same time, there were some notable mergers and acquisition that kept supermarkets in a major growth spurt.

A special report published in the January 1965 issue of Progressive Grocer helps paint a picture of what some have referred to as the "golden age of supermarkets." By the end of 1964, grocery store sales were up over three times more than the population growth rate since 1959. Food retailers were now ringing up $61.8 billion in sales — a five-year gain of 24 percent. One of the most significant achievements is that the sales gain was made without any appreciable increase in food prices, which prompted PG to note: "This dramatic comparison is not only direct and powerful testimony to the truly competitive nature of food distribution, but it is also, in our opinion, a reflection of the constant drive for more and more efficiency and greater cooperation within this biggest U.S. industry."

Yet PG also pointed to what its editors then saw as a force of opposition, potentially hampering the industry's growth: "It provokes doubts, too, as to the need for government investigation into the so-called concentration in this industry and the compulsion to protect the consumer that today characterizes so much of our political philosophy — for no industry in America provides so much for our nation with such a small return," a reference to the government's increasing involvement in the retail industry, presumably on behalf of consumers.

Indeed, the new consumerist movement in America — a byproduct of social activism that gained steam in the '60s — had activists examining every area of the economy, including where people shop and what they buy, and why prices differed so greatly from store to store.

As a result, unit pricing and open-code dating were new methods that came onto the retailing scene after the Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Law — commonly known as the "truth in packaging" law — was passed in 1966 to prevent deceptive packaging and labeling, assist consumers in obtaining accurate information about quantity and contents, and enable shoppers to make value comparisons.

Some supermarkets reacted to the consumer movement by establishing consumer departments, staffed by home economists, to begin a serious dialogue with their shoppers. In 1970, Landover, Md.-based Giant Food hired the industry's first consumer advocate, Esther Peterson, who worked with the government and industry to develop and test consumer programs, including unit pricing and nutrition labeling.

Snazzy Storefronts

In addition to engaging more with their customers, retailers took great strides to make their stores more consumer-friendly with more lively décor and better perishable departments.

Chains rolled out stores that were instantly recognizable, such as A&P's colonial-themed stores and the towering signs of Food Fair and Lucky Stores. In fact, Lucky Stores and other retailers called on some high-profile architects and industrial designers, such as Raymond Loewy, to help design their store exteriors.

Outside, parking lots were larger, while inside, dropped ceilings showcased dramatic lighting fixtures, and more creative layouts featured carpeted or patterned floors, as well as colorful graphics and murals. Stores were close to 30,000 square feet on average by the end of the decade.

The service deli became a popular feature, and multi-tiered dairy sections began to handle a wider array of products. On-site bakeries were a bragging right on their own, as progressive retailers trained personnel to prepare fresh-baked goods daily.

Grocers also began to recognize that each store should be considered as an individual entity, as consumers represented widely different tastes, habits, preferences and needs. Store layouts, department size, product variety and brand emphasis were now being tailored to specific clientele.

Likewise, new product innovation was booming to suit various consumer preferences. The average number of items carried by a supermarket jumped from 5,900 in 1960 to 7,800 by 1970. Among the categories that experienced higher-than-average gains: nonfoods, canned vegetables, soft drinks, frozen foods, pet food, soups, candy, baking supplies and mixes, extracts and spices, detergents, laundry supplies, paper products, confections, dietetic foods, and health and beauty aids.

Untraditional merchandise also started appearing in supermarkets, including flowers, plants, sewing needs, greeting cards, toys and records. New sections featuring school supplies were a direct response to a boom in the school-age population. By the middle of the decade,PG estimated that major nonfood lines accounted for about $2.8 billion, or 6.7 percent, of supermarket sales.

In addition to growth in nonfoods, wine and liquor departments featuring both domestic and imported labels became more common, and some grocers began providing suggestions for selection based on meals.

The decade also saw the addition of pharmacies in supermarkets. As early as 1962, Giant Food built its first combination food store and pharmacy. In 1964, Acme Markets of Philadelphia acquired a 46-store Pennsylvania drug store chain. And in 1969, Albertson's entered into a partnership with Skaggs Drug Centers Inc. to open combination food and drug stores.

Discount Mania

Early on in the decade, three retailers that would eventually make a huge mark in the industry opened their doors. In 1962, Walmart, Kmart and Target all began operations, giving birth to the discounting movement.

While these stores' popularity wouldn't be fully realized until years later, discounting was a trend that was gaining steam among supermarkets. Since the appeal of trading stamps began to fizzle, grocers began looking for new ways to attract shoppers, and lower prices certainly made a big impression.

Suburban shoppers were fed up with flashy promotions and advertising, which they felt led to higher grocery bills. In 1966, these critics engaged in a "housewives' boycott." With inflation beginning in earnest in 1966, supermarkets reacted by lowering prices and experimenting with discounting strategies.

Lucky Stores re-imaged its stores and kept using the same name, while others opted for a hybrid format. Some kept operating traditional stores but opened discounted formats under separate names — for example, Colonial's Big Star stores and Harris Teeter's More Value.

Stores in almost every U.S.

market were dramatically hammering home low prices and low-price images. They visually demonstrated the savings they were achieving with special displays, price comparison advertising, loaded shopping carts in stores and showing costs of the identical family purchase in their stores compared with stamp stores.

Another change in retailing that would end up impacting supermarkets' share of the food dollar was the growth of convenience stores. From 1959 to 1964, these units had more than doubled, from 2,200 to 4,900. Banners such as 7-Eleven, Open Pantry, Speedee Mart and QuikTrip were now dotting the U.S. suburban landscape.

It was a decade full of change, and one that helped the industry experiment and "grow up" in certain terms, just as the baby boomers did.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Readers are invited to share memorabilia illustrating the significant role supermarkets have played, by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

Ten-Year Sales Trend

From 1954 to 1964, the number of grocery and combination stores declined 36 percent. This was an era of tremendous supermarket expansion, when a single new supermarket often displaced three, four or even more small stores. By 1964, fewer small stores were disappearing. The industry was now approaching a period when the nation would require more food stores.

M&A Timeline

Here are just a few of the deals of the decade that helped regional chains grow their turf:

■ 1961: First National Supermarkets, a chain based in Ohio, purchased the 164-store New York division of Safeway.

■ 1964: Jewel Tea, based in Melrose Park, III., entrenched itself in New England with the purchase of 35 Star Markets in Boston.

E.J. Korvette, at the time the nation's largest discounter, with 37 low-margin department stores and 21 high-volume supermarkets, acquired Hill's Super Markets, a 44-store chain operating on New York's Long Island.

Albertson's broke into the California market by acquiring Greater All American Markets, based in Los Angeles. It strengthened its position by merging with Semrau and Sons, an Oakland-based grocery store chain, in 1965.

■ 1966: Supermarkets Operating Co. and General Supermarket, the two largest members of the ShopRite cooperative, merged. The new chain was called Supermarkets General Corp.

■ 1967: Albertson's purchased eight Colorado supermarkets from Fury's Inc., a Lubbock, Texas-based company.

■ 1968: Wakefern and Supermarkets General ended their affiliation, and Supermarkets General changed the name of its 78 stores to Pathmark.

Secrets of a Profitable Grocer

Progressive Grocer's March 1965 issue featured a compelling article, "Secrets of a $100,000 Week Store," which profiled Dorignac's One Stop Food Center in New Orleans, owned by Joe Dorignac. The "secrets" of this profitable shop included Black Angus beef, service at all times, a service deli, a service bakery (leased out), prescription drugs as part of one-stop shopping, plenty of nonfoods and a "country club atmosphere."